Bligh promises faster trains

THE State Government has unveiled plans to introduce super-fast commuter trains which will cut travel time between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane to about an hour.

In a move which Premier Anna Bligh described yesterday as being part of a “rail revolution for South-East Queensland”, the government hopes to put European-style “super commuters” reaching speeds of up to 160kmh from the Sunshine and Gold Coasts direct to Brisbane city.

The proposal is contained in the Integrated Regional Transport Plan, to be released today, and sets a target of doubling the share of public transport use from 7% to 14% in the next 20 years.

“We need to completely overhaul the way trains operate to achieve this level of growth and provide a level of service that is superior to driving a car,” Ms Bligh said.

“We're looking at buying different types of trains with bathrooms for the comfort of passengers and ‘tilt train technology' to achieve faster travel times of about an hour between these cities.

“We are working to deliver a rail revolution.”

The Premier said linking the cities by fast rail would avoid the need to expand existing motorways and encourage more people to travel by rail rather than road.

The target to increase mode share for public transport reflected and reinforced outcomes of the Queensland Government's Growth Management Summit in March.

“By 2031, Brisbane City Council area will be home to about 1.3 million people, the Gold Coast will house about 750,000 residents and nearly 500,000 people will call the Sunshine Coast home,” Ms Bligh said.

“Investing in the mode that can carry the most people over the longest distances will help us deliver connections to communities throughout the South-East corner, cutting congestion and providing sustainable transport options.”

While the super-fast trains were only a proposal at this stage, Ms Bligh said the Government's success in establishing a Brisbane busway network was proof of what could be achieved.

“When we published our first integrated plan in 1997 to build dedicated busways in SEQ there wasn't a single kilometre of dedicated busway in the state,” she said.